


falling for a dumbass

by loverman



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Catra is still a cat, F/F, Skateboarding AU, Skater Catra (She-Ra), but they also have powers still and they still live on etheria, eventual catradora - Freeform, except i barely know anything about skateboarding so not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25288429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loverman/pseuds/loverman
Summary: It’s too much. It’s too much and she doesn’t know what to think and she can’t even breathe right because Adora is here and she’s beautiful and she’s looking at her and taking her breath away and... and... and she just can’t. She can’t fucking breathe. And she hates it. She hates that she makes her feel this way. She hates every fucking thing about her. And yet she can’t help but become more and more addicted to the sound of her voice and the blue of her eyes.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Perfuma (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Perfuma (She-Ra)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75





	1. meet cute? more like meet clutz

Catra has absolutely no idea how she ended up like this. 

One moment, she was attempting – and failing – to recover from a badly executed inward heelflip, the next…

“Shit.” The blonde beneath her mumbled, rubbing her head – which Catra thought was weird, and stupid, because she had landed on her torso. 

She considered apologizing but instead just rolled her eyes, “Ya know, maybe you shouldn’t take a nap in the middle of a skate park.” Catra had managed to get up off the other girl quickly, kneeling beside her instead, hands stinging from having just slammed down onto the concrete. The girl had been lying down, limbs out almost as if she was making a snow angel, staring straight up at the sky like her life depended on it, not moving a muscle; Catra decided that she wasn’t fully to blame for the fact that she ended up landing on top of her because who in the hell lies down when there’s people around, trying to skate. If anything, she’s lucky Catra was the only one to bump into her (though she did appreciate that the blonde seemed to have broken her fall, albeit not on purpose). 

The other girl sat up, eyes still squinting in pain, “I wasn’t napping.” She didn’t bother to explain what she actually was doing, though before Catra could even ask, the blonde was up on her feet and had a hand extended out to Catra. She took it, noting how easily the blonde had pulled her up to her feet. _Hm, someone works out…_

She took in the girl’s look… Blonde, taller than her, _only by a couple inches_ she noted, some kind of weird turtleneck-tank-top combo shirt, denim shorts, nose ring, black plugs in both ears. _Hot…_

And now that they were both standing upright, face to face, probably less than a foot apart, Catra could see just how blue the girls eyes were. Something about them caught her attention, they weren’t too bright, nor too dark, they were kind of a steely blue…Almost piercing. She couldn’t remember ever seeing someone with that same shade of blue in their eyes and she quickly decided that it was her new favorite color. She was so entranced by them that she almost missed it when the girl said, with a friendly grin, “I’m Adora.” And extended her hand out once more but this time for a handshake. 

“Cool,” She ignored her hand, instead glancing around for her board, which had rolled away after the small mishap, and quickly jogged over to fetch it before making her way back to the girl- Adora. “Wanna tell me why you were in my way, _Adora_?” She liked the way the girl’s name rolled off her tongue. 

“What? Can’t a girl admire the sunset without being tackled?” 

“You realize you’re at a skate park, right? People come here to skate, not to star in their own personal coming of age flick.”

“I do skate.”

Catra’s shock showed in her tone though she wasn’t sure exactly why she was so surprised to begin with, “ _You_ skate?”

Adora simply nodded, gesturing down at the stuff by her feet which Catra hadn’t noticed until now; a backpack that looked to be insanely overpacked judging by how many bumps and edges were poking out, and a longboard that…kinda looked like an oversized sword. Catra almost had to hold in her laughter. 

“I wouldn’t parade that thing around, if I were you,” She smirks, “The real skaters might realize you’re just a poser.” 

“If I’m not mistaken, the real posers are the ones who try to stop people from having any fun.” Adora crossed her arms over her chest causing Catra’s gaze to lower to her bulging biceps. _Guess I was right about the working out…_ “Maybe you should just let people do their own thing.” 

Catra had to all but tear her gaze away from her arms. _Fuck that stupid sleeveless shirt…_ “Well, it’s not like you let me do my own thing when you got in my way.” This girl was being just as snarky as Catra and she most definitely did not appreciate it. _It’s kinda hot though, not gonna lie._ “Who the hell shows up to a skate park with a longboard anyway?” 

“I was cruising down by the pier, came here to chill for a bit then all of a sudden, some fucking cat-chick landed on me.” Catra’s tail stiffened, “You should really watch where you’re going, ya know. Fail enough tricks and people might start to think _you’re_ the poser.” 

“At least I can do shit with my board, what’s that thing even good for?” She nudged her chin towards the stupid-sword-looking-board that was still on the ground. 

“I‘ll have you know _that_ is She-Ra and _she’s_ my baby.” Adora glanced down at the board lovingly, then back at Catra with a smirk, “She gets me where I need to go, and besides, girls dig it.” 

“Oh, please.” 

“Don’t even.” Adora ran a hand through her hair, bringing Catra’s gaze to the stupid-looking poof on the top of her head, “I’m sure that’s why you ran into me in the first place. You dig me.”

“As if.” _Maybe a little…But there’s no way I’m telling her that_ “It was not because I _dig you_...” She mocked, “It’s because you were in my fucking way.” 

“Whatever you need to tell yourself.” Adora shrugged, that dumb smirk still on her dumb face.

Oh, that’s it. She was really getting on Catra’s nerves now. “Hey. Don’t think you can just waltz in here with your stupid pretty blue eyes and your big dumb biceps and charm everyone cause it’s not gonna work on me.”

Adora’s brows flew up and with that smug grin still planted on her lips, she let out a snort, “Sounds like it already has.” 

“I…I…Fuck off.” 

Adora broke out into a laugh, one so filled with glee that you’d think Catra just told her the greatest joke she’d ever heard. “S’all good, dude. Hey, what’s your name, by the way?” 

Catra rolled her eyes again, sighing exasperatedly but choosing to let their previous argument go in favour of having a normal conversation. “Catra.” 

“Hm, should’ve guessed.” The girl eyed Catra’s ears, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. _God, what the fuck is so funny to this chick…_ “So you’re a skater, eh?” She looks around the skate park, “You come here a lot?” 

“Yes.” Catra hugged her board to her chest, “Clearly, you don’t.” 

“Yeah, well, gotta say…” She smiled, _Oh, fuck that smile. All cute and soft and pretty…_ “I’m pretty glad I came today.” 

_Oh._

_Oh…_

_Oh._

Catra couldn’t stop the smile that made its way onto her own face. And believe her, she wanted to. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Adora confirmed, strong hands dipping into deep pockets. 

Suddenly there was an arm snaked around Adora’s shoulders and the two girls looked up to see that a much taller blonde was standing beside them. 

“Hello, my love.” And before Catra could even process what was happening, Adora was pressing a kiss to this new girl’s cheek. She then turned back to Catra, and gesturing a hand at the girl beside her, said, “This is my girlfriend, Perfuma.” 

_Oh._

_Oh…_

_Oh._

“Perfuma, this is Catra. I’m pretty sure she broke one of my ribs but it’s chill, we’re buds now.” 

_What… So… So, she wasn’t flirting with me? What the fuck? Buds? Who said anything about buds?_

“Lovely to meet you, Catra.” The taller blonde, Perfuma, who was clad in a flowy pink dress with a subtle floral pattern and… _Were those flower petals in her hair? Weird._ had an even brighter smile than Adora. It made her eyes squint and brought attention to her rosy cheeks and made her look even more beautiful than she already was. And Catra had to admit it, she _was_ beautiful. 

“Yeah. Yeah, you too.” Catra nodded, hugging her board even tighter. Now she just felt a little bit like a dumbass, a slightly embarrassed dumbass. 

“I hate to tear you away from your new friend but Glimmer just called and she needs you down at the store asap.” Catra’s heart aches a little but she wills it to stop – it doesn’t make sense for her to be so upset over Adora leaving…over Adora having a girlfriend, when she barely even knows her. Hell, she was just arguing with her a moment ago. How she went from wanting to punch the girl out to wanting to take the girl out in a matter of minutes, she has no idea. She supposes the blonde is just that charming. She hates it. “She said she tried to call you but your phone was off.” 

“Oh, shit. Okay, yeah.” Adora turns to Catra, that friendly grin of hers making its return, “I’ll see ya around, hopefully next time you can avoid crashing into me.” 

Catra wants to make some snarky comment about how their initial meeting was Adora’s fault but decided against it, not wanting to wipe that gorgeous smile off her face. “Yeah, see you.” 

And that was that. Adora grabbed her clunky backpack in one hand and her _girlfriend’s_ hand in the other and left the skate park, left Catra standing there. Catra was sure she’d never see her again, a thought that bummed her out but she knew it was true. They were just strangers who fell into a coincidental situation, had a short conversation, then went their separate ways, and nothing more. 

And then Catra looked down and saw the stupidest thing she’s ever laid eyes on. Adora’s sword-board. 

She groaned and rolled her eyes, kneeling to pick it up before looking around to find the couple who had left it behind, only to see that they were completely out of sight. 

Her eyes scanned over the massive piece of wood, looking over the design, the stickers, the doodles, the small shapes carved into the deck, and then they landed on a fucking label. 

_if found, return to…_

And then a phone number, presumably _Adora’s_ phone number.

_Who the hell puts a label on their board? God, what a dork._

It’s times like this when she wishes she were a worse person because now she knows that she has to contact that beautiful dumbass and tell her she forgot her board. 

_Stupid inward heelflip..._ She thought, regretting her earlier attempt at the trick, as she sighed and shoved each board, hers as well as Adora’s, under each of her arms before making her way out of the skate park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: danisdreaming
> 
> twitter: whatarecartoons


	2. scorpia, the wise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra’s being a bit of a douche, a bit of a pessimist, and a bit of a lesbian - Scorpia convinces her to stop being two of those things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catra’s opinion on adora keeps changing because i feel like she was like that in the show kinda.. one moment she’d miss her and the next moment she’d wanna kick her ass lmfao she’s very indecisive when it comes to her feelings about adora
> 
> anyway my point is,, don’t be confused when one moment she flirts with her and the next moment she doesn’t wanna fkn see her

Catra stared down at the label for a while. And then a little while longer. And then a little while longer. And then before she even knew what she was doing, she was typing in the phone number, making sure to glance back at board to double, and then triple check that she got it right, despite the fact that she had basically committed the whole thing to memory by now.

Seeing the number at the top of the text thread, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, and then tapped the little message box, allowing her thumbs to hover over the keyboard. She decided against saving Adora as a contact, concluding that she would only be texting her this one time to let her know that she had her board, and so they could decide on a place to meet up for her to return it. It was absurd, but a part of Catra wanted Adora to tell her to just keep the board, not because she actually wanted it – she thought it was hideous and stupid and barely even wanted to be seen walking home with it last night – but because she really didn’t wanna have to encounter the blonde again. 

She couldn’t figure out why she was feeling so weird about this whole thing in the first place; she barely knew Adora and what she did know about her, frankly, kind of pissed her off. Regardless of the fact that she was attractive, she was annoying and reckless and got on Catra’s bad side from the moment she met her. And yet, there was something so charming and endearing about the blonde. As if she could make anyone like her, as if anyone she speaks to instantly wants to become her friend. Catra didn’t like it. 

And the fact that she had a girlfriend? A beautiful, tall blonde girlfriend with a smile so bright it could put the stars to shame? Honestly, the fucking audacity… 

She began typing out a message.

**Catra: hey, it’s Catra**

_Ew. No._

She erased it and tried again. 

**Catra: this is catra**

_Ugh. Even worse._

**Catra: i have your board**

_Oh god, am I writing a ransom note…_

She took a deep breath, emptied her mind, and just typed how she would if she were texting any one of her friends; sarcastic and just a little bit flirty. 

**Catra: interesting way to get a girl’s number, i’ll give you that**

She hit send before she could even think it through. _Oh, shit. Was that too much? Fuck. She has a girlfriend… Is she even gonna know it was me… Fuck, of course she’s not gonna know, how would she possibly kno-_

**Adora: it worked though, didn’t it?**

_…What?_

_Did she… Did she actually leave her board there just so I’d text her…_

**Adora: tbh i thought maybe you were just gonna keep it lmfao**

**Catra: please, i can’t wait to get that monstrosity out of my house**

**Adora: yeah, yeah**

**Adora: we can meet up tomorrow, if you’re free**

**Adora: Mysta-Café at 3?**

**Catra: sure**

**Adora: cool, we can even sit and grab some coffee. my treat**

Catra texted back another hesitant ‘sure’ and then set her phone down, getting up to hide Adora’s board in her closet so she wouldn’t have to keep looking at it. This whole situation was confusing her. She couldn’t figure out what Adora’s deal was and it really bothered her because she hated not knowing people’s intentions. _Sure, she could just be being friendly but… but…_ Before Catra could finish that thought – granted she didn’t really have any idea where she was going with it – her roommate burst into the room, a goofy grin covering pretty much her whole face. 

“Morning, Wildcat!” Scorpia glanced down at the miserable look on her face, causing her own smile to falter, “What’s the matter?” 

“Nothing.”

“C’mon, tell me.”

“No, fuck off.”

Scorpia gasped in horror, “Catra, language!” Catra simply rolled her eyes. “Seriously, what’s wrong? You look really upset… Do you need a hug? Should I get you some tea?” 

Catra groaned, standing up from her bed, “I met this girl-“

“Oh, my gosh! That’s so exciting! What’s she like? Is she pretty? Does she skate, too?” 

Catra scoffed, “If you consider long-boarding skating.” 

Scorpia rose a semi-confused brow at her, “Well, isn’t it? I mean, it’s a plank of wood… with wheels… and you use it to skate…” 

“Ugh, whatever, Scorpia, it’s about the principle!”

“And if you don’t mind my asking, the principle is… what, exactly?” 

Catra laughed condescendingly despite sputtering through a response, “Well, it- I… It’s that… Ugh. Whatever. That’s not the point. The point is this chick forgot her stupid board at the park the other day and now I have to return it to her and I really don’t wanna see her stupid pretty face.” 

“Pretty face, huh?” She wiggled her brows at the brunette, and then a look of realization washed over her face, “Oh wait, is that the board I saw you carry in last night? I was gonna ask you about it but you rushed into your room so fast I didn’t get the chance.” Scorpia glanced around the room, “Wh… Where is it?” 

“I put it in my closet.” She shrugged, sitting back down on her bed and grabbing her phone to scroll through social media. 

“And why did you do that?” 

“You ask a lot of dumb questions, ya know that?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been told. Many times. By you.” Scorpia sighed, taking a seat beside Catra and putting her pincer around her shoulders, to which Catra flinched, “I still don’t get why you dislike this girl so much.” 

“I was skating and she got in the way and I crashed.” 

“So, she made you crash?” 

“No, I bombed an inward heelflip so I bailed.” 

“Yeahhh… I have no idea what that means, normal people-speak, please.” 

Catra sighed, “I tried to do this new trick I haven’t been able to get down, I didn’t do it right, so I fell off my board and landed on her,” Scorpia’s brows went flying, “ _BecAUSE_ she was lying on the ground like a dumbass.” 

“Okaaaay,” Scorpia chose to ignore Catra’s swearing, “And did you apologize for falling on her?” 

“What? Obviously not! It wasn’t my fault!” Scorpia gave her a _look_ that made Catra want to defend herself – not that she wouldn’t have attempted to do so, regardless. “It’s a skate park! People are always falling, she shouldn’t have been in the way.”

“Gotta say, Wildcat, you’re giving skaters a bit of a bad rep here.” 

“I’m the only skater you know.” 

“Point taken, but still, falling on her and not even apologizing? And then basically calling her a poseur behind her back-“

“Actually, I said it to her face, too.” 

“Oof. Ease up on the poor girl, Catra, she didn’t even do anything to you.” Scorpia reasoned, causing Catra to burst up in defence. 

“Hey, I literally kept her board safe! I could’ve left it there to get stolen or something…”

“We both know you’re too much of a softie to do that.” 

“I am _not_ soft.” 

Scorpia stood up, grin making its way back onto her face, “Are you kidding? You’re the biggest softie there is! You’re like a cuddly teddy bear!” And before Catra could do anything, Scorpia’s pincers were around her in a crushing hug. 

“Yeah, whatever.” Catra rolled her eyes but allowed herself to relax in Scorpia’s embrace, the corner of her lips perking up into a soft smile. 

“Seriously though…” Scorpia pulled away to look at the shorter girl, “Be a little nicer to her, who knows? Maybe you’ll develop feelings and fall in love and get married and have beautiful children together.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Catra scrunched her face in disgust, “Who said anything about love or marriage or bratty little kids? Besides, she has a girlfriend.” 

Scorpia’s face fell, “Oh. Well, still, you could make a new friend! And we both know how much you love making new friends-“

“Yeah, not at all.” 

“Be more open to meeting new people, Wildcat! You never know what good might come out of it.” Scorpia grinned once more, quickly ruffling up Catra’s, already fairly messy, hair before leaving her room, calling a quick, “I made scrambled eggs, if you want some!” Over her shoulder. 

Catra sighed, running a hand through her hair to get it out of her face before walking over to her closet and pulling the board back out, setting it to lean against her bedroom wall. She then trudged out of her room to grab some breakfast; Scorpia _did_ make the best scrambled eggs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna have chapter two be a long ass thing where catra and adora become friends and bond and shit but then i started writing the whole thing with scorpia and decided i’d make this an even slower slow burn lmao 
> 
> my tumblr: danisdreaming

**Author's Note:**

> first multi-chapter fic, woohoo. first chapter is shorter than i wanted it to be but what can ya do. 
> 
> also adora was *not* flirting with catra while she has a girlfriend lmao she was just tryna be friendly,,
> 
> tumblr: danisdreaming
> 
> twitter: whatarecartoons


End file.
